1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of vending machines and, more particularly, to a drive system for operating a vending machine dispensing assembly.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Vending machines for dispensing canned and/or bottled beverages have long been known. Early model vending machines release similarly sized bottles, one at a time, following deposit of the required purchase amount. In order to withdraw the selected bottle from the vending machine, the purchaser was required to, for example, manually remove a beverage container through a release mechanism on a shelf. Over time, manufacturers developed various other mechanisms for releasing products from vending machines. These arrangements range from a more conventional mechanism wherein the products are guided within a chute, often times along a serpentine path, into a delivery port, to more unique mechanisms such as the use of transport systems that shift a product transport carrier to a point adjacent a selected product, receive the selected product and then deliver the selected product to the consumer.
At present, specialty beverages such as sports drinks, flavored teas, fruit juices, milk and the like are growing in popularity. Typically, these beverages are packaged in glass or plastic bottles that are available in many differently sized and shaped containers. Given the variety of container sizes, mechanisms for releasing selected products during a vend operation must be capable of accommodating the wide range of containers available to today's consumers. As the number of different sized and shaped containers continues to grow, it becomes increasingly difficult to insure a proper vending operation with standard dispensing systems.
Based on the above there exists a need in the art for an enhanced drive system for a vending machine dispensing assembly. More specifically, there exists a need for an operating system for a dispensing assembly that can, with a single input, control multiple release mechanisms associated with a single product queue.